Output single line of all tags exlcluding specific ones from ALTFILE

[ywzc]

I'm trying to figure out a way to print all tags, excluding system tags and some specific ones, from pairs of source files and an ALTFILE (using fileNUM). This is what I tried:

ExifTool version 13.10

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exiftool -file1 %f_2.%e FILES -s -a -u -e --System:All --XMP-xmpMM:PreservedFileName -p '$FileName $All:All $file1:FileName $file1:All:All'
It appears that the -s, -a, -u, and -e options have an effect on both the source file and the ALTFILE but --System:All --XMP-xmpMM:PreservedFileName affects only the source file. System tags and PreservedFileName are not printed for the source file but do print for the ALTFILE.

I also tried adding the family 8 group name to the excluded tags like the example below, but that didn't change anything.

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exiftool -file1 %f_2.%e FILES -s -a -u -e --System:All --XMP-xmpMM:PreservedFileName --file1:System:All --file1:XMP-xmpMM:PreservedFileName -p '$FileName $All:All $file1:FileName $file1:All:All'
Why is this happening? And is there a way I can print all but some tags from a source file and an ALTFILE as a single line?

Another strange behavior I noticed is that exiftool printed the FileName only when it was capitalized (FileName) inside the print format string. filename gave an error:

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Warning: [Minor] Tag 'filename' not defined - FILEI'm assuming it's related to the fact that I excluded system tags but than why does capitalized works?

Thank you for this amazing tool!

[Phil Harvey]

This is tricky, and I'll need some time to work on this.  I haven't tried using an alternate file with 'all' in the -p output.  This is a very odd use, but I agree that the behaviour isn't currently consistent.

- Phil

[Phil Harvey]

OK.  I have a solution that I hope won't adversely impact other uses of the -file# option, and ExifTool 13.16 will contain a patch to make the use of "$file1:all:all" more consistent in the -p formatting.

I still have to look into the case sensitivity.

- Phil

[Phil Harvey]

The case sensitivity is an interesting quirk.  I don't recall anyone ever combining --TAG (ie. the -x option) together with the -p option, and this is certainly a very uncommon usage.

What happens internally is that all tags are extracted, and the list of "all" tags is trimmed according to the excluded tags.  (I'm patching this in 13.16 to also apply exclusions to tags from alternate files.)  In the -p expression, this list is only consulted if an exact (case-sensitive) match isn't found.  I think I'll chalk this up as a "feature" and not a bug, and think about trying to explain this in the documentation.

You have certainly come up with some interesting things for me to look into with your first couple of posts here.

- Phil

Edit: I think I'll just add a note in the code about the case-sensitive feature, since any explanation I tried to add to the documentation would have likely confused people more.

[Phil Harvey]

ExifTool 13.16 is now available.

- Phil

[ywzc]

Interesting stuff. Thank you for the quick and detailed response.